Getty The Buccaneers are beginning a new era under head coach Todd Bowles.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a series of roster moves following their rookie minicamp practices. The Bucs announced they have signed 6’3″, 210-pound receiver Kameron Brown who had a promising career at Coastal Carolina, in addition to James Madison defensive lineman Mike Greene and Yale tight end J.J. Howland following his standout performance during minicamp.
“Ivy League undrafted rookie tight end? The Bucs are signing former Yale tight end J.J. Howland to a contract after he impressed in rookie minicamp this weekend,” The Athletic’s Greg Auman tweeted on May 16, 2022. “Howland even wore Cam Brate’s 84 as a tryout player.”
The Buccaneers made corresponding moves by releasing wideout Austin Watkins and defensive lineman Kobe Smith to open up additional roster spots. Watkins had a promising career at UAB before flashing at the 2021 Senior Bowl practices months before the draft. The wideout is the cousin of NFL veteran receiver Sammy Watkins and notched 57 receptions for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns for the Blazers in 2019.
“He’s always telling me to keep grinding and that I’ve got a lot ahead of me,” Watkins told News-Press’s Andrew Sodergren regarding his cousin’s influence during an October 2019 interview. “I just need to keep working. I need to become a smarter player, learn the coverages faster and just watch more film and be smarter about the game. I feel I’ve got the size, speed and route running to be successful at the next level.”
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The Bucs Were ‘Impressed’ by Brown During Minicamp
The Brown signing is interesting as the receiver has been wearing No. 81 in workouts, Antonio Brown’s old number. Auman reported that the Buccaneers were “impressed” by his performance in minicamp.
Brown notched 36 receptions for 605 yards and five touchdowns during his 12 appearances for Coastal Carolina in 2021. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler listed Brown in his “Best of the Rest” receiver rankings putting him at No. 162 among wideouts.
Tampa Bay Continues to Look for Depth at Wide Receiver
Receiver continues to be an area of need for the Buccaneers when it comes to depth. Chris Godwin is recovering from a season-ending ACL injury and the Buccaneers were unable to find a comparable replacement after Antonio Brown was released in January.
Tampa Bay will be looking for additional players to pair with Godwin and Mike Evans, creating opportunities for undrafted players like Brown to have a puncher’s chance at making the final roster. Buccaneers wide receivers coach Kevin Garver emphasized that the team cannot have enough playmakers referencing the injuries that tend to happen at the position.
“Yeah, you can never have enough wide receivers and really you look at it the whole time that I’ve been here from 19, 20, 21,” Garver explained during a May 10 press conference. “We played with a lot of guys, we played with a lot of guys. That 19 season, Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin] go out and we finish and B.P. [Breshad Perriman] finishes off and has a great end of the season and Cyril Grayson and [Jaydon] Mickens and Scotty [Miller] and all these guys are playing.
“We probably didn’t deal with the injury bug as much in the the 20 season, and then it popped back up for us in 21. So, you can never have enough, because it is the next man up mentality for us, for sure. But you never know when those injuries are gonna arise, and you gotta have enough talent in there to line up and win week to week.”
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Bucs Sign Physical Receiver, Release Cousin of Sammy Watkins: Report